@M0LEP , where are you listening ? 40m around the EU fists calling freq should get you lots of slower code . What speed you working at ?

Thanks, both of you. I'm out the next couple of evenings. The weekend's weather-dependant, but I should be by the rig at least some of the time.

Normally, when I'm looking for QRS(-ish) Morse I scan around about 3.555 +/- 0.01 or so, but I also sometimes try wherever reversebeacon.net spots someone working 15wpm or slower. I find 40m a bit of a bear-pit, often with too many loud stations too close together, though I have tried listening in around 7.03(-ish) because that's where SOTA activators tend to pop up...

a keyboard is normally not able to generate dit daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah dit as often done to cry out that the msg you just sent was received in good order.

perhaps that is why i stick with a straight key. and i think that also informs me as to why i don't find CW the same these days as it used to be. i miss when almost everyone gave that dit daaaaaaaaaaaaaah dit and also the daaaaaah dit dit dit daaaaaah in between phrases!

those things are the music that make CW special -- keyboards and decoders: not so much

Now we have the DXCC keyboard hero's the only CW they work is chasing new ones and they cant even conduct a CW QSO without a keyboard or decoder.They easy too spot with the incorrectly sent pro-signs.

What I also miss is the chirpy CW transmissions from the old USSR operators. It was like music to the ears hearing these chirpy homebrew CW transmitters. Now they all running Icom IC7700 and IC7800's !

a keyboard is normally not able to generate dit daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah dit as often done to cry out that the msg you just sent was received in good order.

perhaps that is why i stick with a straight key. and i think that also informs me as to why i don't find CW the same these days as it used to be. i miss when almost everyone gave that dit daaaaaaaaaaaaaah dit and also the daaaaaah dit dit dit daaaaaah in between phrases!

those things are the music that make CW special -- keyboards and decoders: not so much

it wasn't long ago when cw was no longer a requirement to get a ham license. there are plenty of new hams that are trying to learn the code for pure enjoyment. I am one of them, licensed 6 years ago. now, i can send somewhere around 30-35 wpm with a very gud level of accuracy but cannot head copy that fast.when ever i engage in a qso (20 wpm) the other fellow will not slow down so i have to speed up sending then turn on cwget.i've been critizised for doing this by some arrogant cw ops here in my area and i say, so what? sue me. these are the people that actually discourage hams to get into cw. shame on you.flame away guys !!!!!!

Like most, I learned CW by ear. However, the cw readers may be a good learning aid. See the character, hear the character....., see the word, hear the word ...... I imagine most people want to copy by ear, but this may be a way to get there. If so, it's all good.

In former times, the decision was simple, train by ear. There was no other way to do it. It must have been brutal in the days of straight-key telegraphy. The punch-tape players made it a little easier, and cassette tapes were still more convenient. After years away from radio, I'm trying to get back to 30 wpm, and I'm using mp3 files from the ARRL code archives. Perhaps we are just set in our ways and these cw readers deserve another look.

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